The name of a male is referred to simply as a 'Puma', the female is referred to as a 'she-Puma' and the young are called 'cubs'.
Typically, pumas can be identified by a tan or slightly yellow coat, round face, long tail and erect ears. Adult males grow to 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 meters) long and females average 5 to 7 feet (1.5 to 2.1 meters). Males typically weigh 110 to 180 lbs.
Adult male pumas can grow between an average of 6 to 8 feet long and females can average between 5 to 7 feet. Males can typically weigh around 50kg to 80kg and females can weigh around 35kg to 60kg.
The Mountain Lion, Puma concolor
An adult male, called a Tom, Mountain Lion can weigh up to 150 pounds and measure up to 8 feet in length from nose to tail. Mature females, called Queens, will measure 7 feet in length from tail to nose and weigh as much as 90 pounds.
Mountain lion, puma, cougar, panther—this cat is known by more names than just about any other mammal! But no matter what you call it, it's still the same cat, Puma concolor, the largest of the "small cats." So how did it get so many names?
A Cat of Many Names
These include cougar, mountain lion, panther and catamount.
'Puma' is generally used to refer to Latin American cats, while 'cougar' is a North American term, but the distinction is unclear. So you might find yourself talking about mountain lions, cougars, pumas, Florida panthers, catamounts or even léons – but remember: they're all the same cool cat.
The reason for why so many people interpret “lion” to mean “alpha male” is most likely because the lion has been depicted as “king of the jungle” and “king of beasts” in society and because male lions have been popular symbol for royalty and stateliness. But lion prides are not run by a Alpha male at all.
The head of the family is the pride male. He's the king of the pride and it's his job to protect the female lions, called lionesses and their young cubs. Sometimes there can be three or four kings who share this responsibility.
The lion is the most social of all wild felid species, living in groups of related individuals with their offspring. Such a group is called a "pride". Groups of male lions are called "coalitions". Females form the stable social unit in a pride and do not tolerate outside females.
The word “panther” is also used to refer to the melanistic mutations of the jaguar and the leopard which are either black (black panther) or white (white panther) while “puma” is used to refer to the mountain lion or the cougar.
Pumas are large, secretive cats. They are also commonly known as cougars and mountain lions, and are able to reach larger sizes than some other "big" cat individuals. Despite their large size, they are more closely related to smaller feline species than to lions or leopards.
A pumapard is a hybrid of a cougar and a leopard. Both male cougar with female leopard and male leopard with female cougar pairings have produced offspring. In general, these hybrids have exhibited a tendency to dwarfism.
Cougar (Puma concolor)
Despite this, it is not a member of the cat subfamily Pantherinae, and for this reason is not considered to be a true big cat. Cougars are found in many parts of North and South America. The species is most often found in forests, but is also able to live in more open environments.
According to the zoo's director, Ewa Zgrabczyńska, cougars should never be kept as family pets. Domesticating them makes it impossible for them to be reintroduced to their natural environment. Even growing up with humans, a cougar remains a wild animal and can be dangerous.
Pumas stalk their prey, which means they walk slowly and quietly, they hide and then when close, they jump or run fast to catch their prey by surprise. They live and hunt alone. Female cougars take care of their babies until they are old enough to take care for themselves. Baby cougars are called cubs or kittens.
One of the outdated pieces of information is the concept of the alpha wolf. “Alpha” implies competing with others and becoming top dog by winning a contest or battle. However, most wolves who lead packs achieved their position simply by mating and producing pups, which then became their pack.
Lions are the ultimate alpha males. A lion lays claim over a pride of lionesses by fighting off other males. The battle is fierce.
Wolves do not have an innate sense of rank; they are not born leaders or born followers. The “alphas” are simply what we would call in any other social group “parents.” The offspring follow the parents as naturally as they would in any other species.
Wolf packs don't actually have alpha males and alpha females, the idea is based on a misunderstanding. Given this designation, it's easy to imagine that a pack consists of young adults and older animals in a strict ranking system. You can imagine that relatives, newcomers and challengers are all part of the system.
An omega wolf or male can refer to an independent man who succeeds outside of social hierarchies. It can also refer to a weak, unsuccessful “loser.”
In most wolf packs, there will be an alpha male and female and frequently an omega male and female. In wolf hierarchy, the males tend to dominate other males and the females dominate other females so that there is generally a low ranking member of each sex.
The Jaguar and Puma are both big cats, but the Jaguar is larger. Jaguars have a stockier and more muscular build than Pumas. Jaguars have distinctive yellow-brown coats with black spots arranged in a circular pattern, while Pumas have light brown skin with black markings on their face, legs, and tail.
Black Puma
There are no authenticated cases of truly melanistic pumas. Black pumas have been reported in Kentucky, one of which had a paler belly. There have also been reports of glossy black pumas from Kansas and eastern Nebraska.
Cougar is a slang term for a woman who seeks romantic or sexual relationships with significantly younger men, women or both.